The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-01-26
S45O,OOO FIRE I!
Two of the Largest Whole
sale Grocery Houses
And Two Large Wholesale
Liquor Stores
Completely Licked up
by the Fire F'iend!
Il. l.. Marsaiis and Armstrong
Bros, GrOcers, and
TilIman & Co. and Hopkins & Co.,
Liquor Dealers, the Sufferers.

One of the most destructive con-
flagrations occurred early this morn
ing that il has been the misfortune of
Dallas TO experience. A little after 8
O'Clock Chief Kahn, of the fire de-
partment, says some one from the
News Office gave them the alarm
by pounding on the cnginehouse door,
but failed to locate the fire, and the
best information they had at the time
the alarm was given was that the fire
was somewhere in the Cedars, and No.
/ pulled out for that part of the city.
Soon after that lett, he says, he learned
the fire was at the grocery store Oft.
l.. Marsalis, but the engine had gone,
he didn't know where, and he was
powerlcss to do anything; and he fur
ther says that if the
alarm had been proDprly given
they could have saved greater por-
ton of the properly. just aitel No. l
had passed up Main street, out of hear
ing, the flames in the rear of the one
story part of Tilman & Co.'S liquor
house, broke through the roof, but
only for few moments when some
Thing seemed to smother the flames,
aud for twenty minutes or more there
were no flames to be seen. About the
time the flames shot upward from this
portion OF the building, No. 2 had
their engine in place aud soon had
stream of water, and directly engine
No. was on the ground. Chief Kahn
ordered the men on The roof and
breaking u sky light in order TO throw
wafer into the building. the fl mes
shot up high in the air, and from that
time on the luried b aze lit up the night
for blocks around as light us day. 1t
is the opinion OF the iiremcn aud others
who were on the ground early that
the fire had been burning several
hours. II was 3:l5 when the first blaze
came through the roof of the rear of
Tillman's store, and the first alarm was
given little after O'Clock, so 1t
must have been Mt least three
quar- ers OF an hour before water was
first thrown from the time the first
alarm was given.
The walchman at the Santa Fc de-
pot says that he fired his re, Diver
giving the alarm little after O'Clock.
which was answered by the Police.
He SAYS that he saw man run from
tho rear of the building just before
he discovered the building was ON
fire and thought of calling 10 him but
he failed 10 do il 1t was unfortun-
ate in tue extreme the alarm was not
given so that could have been un
derslood, but tho HERALD can see no
lust reason {" find ia IL with the de-
partment, but does say that the plan of
depending upon telephone con,muni-
cation on such occasions is faulty and
destructive TO property. There
should b. a regular fire alarm system,
then there can be NO mistake aud no
excuse.
T. L. MARsALIs
Occupied the store, corner OF Com
merce and Murphy streets as whole
salc grocery house. About 100 feet
two stories and 100 feet one story and
fifty feet front. This building was
Literally packed and jamned with gro
ceries, etc. Mr. Marsalis being the larg' ST
grocery des.er in the city AID NoIth-
ern Iexas. dong aycarly bu-in IS of
at least $2,0OU.OO0. 1he amount of
stock on hand at the time of the fire
.nd loss of bu lding $2OO.0O. well in
sured, the exact amount he is not ye,
able TO give, tue books and papers be-
ing ia somewhat chaotic state, which,
however, were saved MIR. Marsalis is
one of the nerviest me in Da,la-, and
though he feels the loss keenly, he